Brains May Make Automatic Memory Back-Up

The way brains form memories could be completely different than previously believed according to new research. It suggests we make two simultaneous memories: one for short-term and one for the long-term.

Until now the prevailing belief was that the hippocampus creates a memory that is then transferred to the cortex. That was partly derived from patients with conditions, similar to those depicted in the movie Memento, in which hippocampus damage means they are unable to form new memories but retain their long-term memories from before the damage.